Shoulder carriers, such as backpacks, golf bags, garment bags, mail-carrier bags, etc., are widely used and are available in a variety of different special-use and general purpose configurations. For example, backpacks are available for carrying small children, for carrying relatively large amounts of weight for extended hiking or cold-weather travel, for carrying schoolbooks, etc. Several such examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,679,108; 3,902,640; 4,384,602; 5,526,969; 5,529,229; and 5,547,461.
Shoulder carriers typically require most of the weight of the carrier to be borne on the shoulders of the wearer. This weight distribution causes the wearer to not stand with proper posture (i.e., straight), and thus can lead to back injuries, muscles strains or other problems. In addition, overloading of the wearer's shoulders can itself cause injuries, such as strain of the trapezius muscle, pinching of nerves near the spine, etc.
Some shoulder carriers, such as technical backpacks used for multi-day hiking trips disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,461, use a hip belt to transfer weight of the carrier to the hips or lumbar region of a wearer's back, thereby decreasing the amount of weight on the wearer's shoulders. However, such solutions require a hip belt that is tightened around the wearer's hips for the weight transfer to be effective. Without the hip belt, no weight transfer to the hips or lumbar region would occur.